Moab Adventure Center provides advice, gear and guides for taking on Moab’s New Mountain Bike Trails

MOAB, UT – The Moab Adventure Center has been gearing up to outfit the demand for mountain bike trail riding thanks to Moab’s new mountain bike trail building boom. Nearly 30 new trails or extensions of existing routes have been blazed over the past 18 months.

“We've seen a steady increase in riders this year, partly due to the news getting out that a number of new trails have been established around Moab,” explains Jamie Pearce, Manager of Moab Adventure Center. “We’re here to help with suggestions, logistics, gear and outfitting as needed. We can also take riders on guided small group mountain bike adventures.”

Claiming that it takes more than a week to ride all of the trails here, Trail Mix, the organization behind the commitment to increasing excitement levels for mountain bikers, says there are now trails for all levels so the whole family can enjoy a two-wheel vacation based in Moab.

Trail Mix is an advisory committee to Grand County, Utah, that builds and maintains trails, mostly on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. The name comes from "The Mix" of non motorized trail users: hiking, biking, equestrian and skiing, explained Sandy Freethey, Grand County Trail Mix Chair.

Typically the organization builds about 25 miles of new trail annually after a three-to-12-month BLM approval process. On average, a mile of trail is built in up to two weeks. It may take longer when grip hoists to move large rocks or bench cutting are involved. Trail Mix prides itself on building trails quickly and for less money than in other areas. The work is done with two paid workers and two or more regular volunteers.

“We get a lot of trail built utilizing volunteers who come to town in the spring and fall from various colleges, youth groups, Outward Bound and Boy Scouts.  These groups help us build for a day and are gone.  But with 10-15 hands the trail building moves forward quickly,” said Freethey. “The International Mountain Bicycling Association (locally the newly formed Moab Mt. Bike Association) was active this summer involving local bikers in work party weekends building new trails in the LaSal Mts. working with the Forest Service.  They had a great turn out of 25- 30 people for those weekend builds.”

Freethey lists some of the major the new mountain bike trails created in 2013-2014 in and around Moab:

Dead Horse Point West Side Trails: Crossroads, Whiptail, Prickly Pair, Twisted Tree. In 2013 the trail system was doubled in length. Dead Horse Point State Park now has 17 miles of singletrack. The Park is located approximately 30 miles from Moab.

Amasa Back Area: Captain Ahab and HyMasa. The Amasa Back Trail is a jeep trail that climbs about 1,000 feet to a mesa top overlooking the Colorado River and the Kane Creek Anticline. A short bike ride from town, this trail is challenging and fun for experienced mountain bikers.

Klondike additions: Alaska, Homer, Nome, Jurrasic, Inside Passage, Chilkoot Pass, Miner's Loop, Dino Flow N. Extension. The Klondike Bluffs Trail represents a step up in terms of exertion and skills required, but is still enjoyable for fit novice mountain bikers. The route follows a jeep trail across Moab Member slickrock imprinted with fossilized dinosaur tracks. The jeep trail terminates at the boundary of Arches National Park, where a short hike leads to the top of the bluffs and an impressive viewpoint.

Moab Brands: Sidewinder, Escape, couple of short spur connector trails. Take U.S. 191 North about 8 miles to the Bar-M Chuckwagon; turn right to enter the Bar-M private parking lot. Choose from a variety of family and novice-friendly trails over varied terrain. There are some moderately difficult single track and slickrock sections as well.

Navajo Rocks: This is off Hwy 313; the first 7 miles are complete; another 9 miles are planned, all providing an intermediate ride with aerobic climbs, heart-skipping descents and moderately smooth cross-country travel. An average grade is about 6% with 5 or 6 stretches exceeding 15%.

Klonzo II: South Unit:  Roller Coaster, The Red Hot, Midway, Hot Dog, Houdini, Zoltar, Top Spin, Carousel, Wizard, Gypsy, Magician, (and coming soon the new Gravitron Trail off of Wahoo).  The trailhead for the Klonzo Trails is on the Willow Springs Road approximately 12 miles north of Moab. This trail system currently has 7 trails mostly for intermediate skill level.

Gold Bar Rim - aka Blue Dot:  The BLM has this trail to build. There will be some changes and short re-routes around an archaeology site and one re route for a better line to the old Blue Dot, hopefully done by the end of the year.  Technically it’s not legal to ride yet with a surface all slickrock along shallow drainages.

Moab, Utah has become the undisputed hub for mountain bike enthusiasts by virtue of its beautiful red rock terrain, views that go on forever and trails that range from beginner to advanced and suit all riding abilities. The Moab Adventure Center offers professionally guided Moab mountain biking tours on all of Moab's classic rides.

Recommended for those new to mountain biking or mountain biking in the Moab area is the Courthouse Loop ride or the Canyonlands Sunrise ride. For a more intermediate experience, check out the Klondike Bluffs or Deadhorse Point Intrepid Trail rides. http://www.moabadventurecenter.com/trips/biking/

Through the Moab Adventure Center visitors may combine half, full and multiple-day activities in the Moab region. There’s a 10 percent discount when combining three or more full- or half-day activities in a package. Moab Adventure Center can also arrange a variety of basic-to-luxury lodging options and suggest dining venues.

About Moab Adventure Center
Moab Adventure Center is a division of Western River Expeditions (http://www.westernriver.com/), an adventure travel company headquartered in Salt Lake City, with operations and offices in Moab, Utah and Fredonia, Arizona. The company is the largest single tour provider in Moab, UT. Its programs are available from March through October.

The Moab Adventure Center is located at 225 South Main Street, Moab, Utah 84532. For information and reservations please call (435) 259-7019 or (866) 904-1163. The center also has a 2,000-square-foot retail space selling adventure related gear and clothing as well as souvenirs.